ACROSS MISSISSIPPI — The state of Mississippi has collected $7.3 million thus far from its efforts to crackdown on unemployment fraud.
Mark Henry, executive director of Mississippi Department of Employment Security, says the money came from people caught collecting unemployment benefits while working.
The recovered funds will go to the Unemployment Benefits Trust Fund. The fund provides [...] [...]
by Associated Press Published: February 9,2012
Tags: attorneys, bill, convicts, courts, jails, law, lawyer, lawyers, legislative branch, Legislature, pardons, prisons, state government, trustees
JACKSON — Attorney General Jim Hood may be busy today while House members debate a bill to limit his powers.
The House bumped up its meeting time from the usual 2 p.m. to 10 a.m., when Hood is likely to be arguing against former Gov. Haley Barbour’s pardons at the state Supreme Court. The House doesn’t [...] [...]
JACKSON — The Mississippi Health Department says it needs more money in the coming budget year or it may have to close clinics and reduce AIDS drug purchases.
Dr. Mary Currier, the state health officer, told the House Appropriations Committee that the department has been draining internal reserves to stay afloat last year and this year. [...] [...]
by Associated Press Published: February 9,2012
Tags: bills, elections, law, lawmakers, legislative branch, partisanship, political advertisements, Politics, state government, tax increases, taxes
JACKSON — Democratic bitterness over Republican campaign tactics in last year’s Mississippi legislative elections erupted yesterday in a debate over an otherwise routine local bill.
Several Democrats said opponents sent mailers claiming they voted for a large number of tax increases, unfairly counting times they voted to raise or renew taxes requested by individual cities and [...] [...]
JACKSON — The Mississippi Development Authority (MDA) will lead a delegation of state business leaders on a business development mission to Tel Aviv, Haifa and Jerusalem, Israel from March 17-22. The trip is designed to connect Mississippi businesses looking to expand trade and create business relationships with opportunities in Israeli markets.
During the business development mission, [...] [...]
PEARL RIVER COUNTY — The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality has asked Pearl River County for a comprehensive waste disposal plan.
The Picayune Item reports county officials are unhappy about spending the money but can do nothing about it. Such plans are required by state law every 10 years.
County Administrator Adrain Lumpkin Jr. told supervisors other [...] [...]
JACKSON — Attorney General Jim Hood is steamed because a state House committee wouldn’t let him testify on a bill that would cut his authority.
Under the bill, any state agency would be able to hire its own lawyer without Hood’s approval.
The House Judiciary Committee voted 13-10 today to approve the bill, setting it up for [...] [...]
by Associated Press Published: February 6,2012
Tags: appropriations, budget, colleges, education, financial aid, higher education, lawmakers, legislative, Legislature, state government, students, universities
ACROSS MISSISSIPPI — Recipients of state scholarships could see their aid packages trimmed unless the Mississippi Legislature puts more money into financial aid.
That includes the more than 20,000 residents who receive yearly grants of $500 or $1,000.
Higher Education Commissioner Hank Bounds says officials have been using money collected from state student loan repayments to supplement [...] [...]
by Associated Press Published: February 2,2012
Tags: attorneys, convicts, corrections, courts, executive, governor, jails, law, law enforcement, lawyers, pardons, prisons, state government, trustees
JACKSON — The Mississippi Supreme Court said yesterday it would take up the legal challenge to the pardons ex-Gov. Haley Barbour gave out in his last days in office.
State Attorney General Jim Hood, a Democrat, wants to invalidate dozens of the 198 pardons that Barbour, a Republican, handed out before his second four-year term ended [...] [...]
by Associated Press Published: February 2,2012
Tags: appropriations, budget, colleges, education, faculty, fees, higher education, S. Gale Denley Student Media Center, state government, students, tuition, universities
JACKSON — The leaders of Mississippi’s community college system say that the 5.5 percent cut in their budget proposed by Gov. Phil Bryant could lead to higher tuition, bigger classes and more part-time instructors.
They say any decrease in funding would only aggravate a money crisis that the colleges have been struggling with, as the recession [...] [...]